Talmo Curto de Oliveira knows how it is to be on the top of the podium, even though his team couldn’t claim a place in the final game at the 2014 Women’s Club World Championship in Zurich. The Brazilian coach of Sesi-SP won with his team the South American title and is one of the Gold medalists with the Brazilian national team back then in 1992 at the Olympic Games.

Curto de Oliveira, however, isn’t only a volleyball coach, but a man interested in working for a better world too: The Brazilian wants to fight against a big problem, not only in home nation: Drugs and addictions. The coach of Sesi-SP, first of all doesn’t want to judge addicts: “A lot of people think drug addicts consume drugs, because they want to destroy themselves. That’s just not true. They want to be happy and don’t realize that it’s not long-term, that it isn’t real happiness.” The formal setter of the Brazilian national team is sure that only fundamental things in life can bring this feeling.

The coach of Sesi-SP knows well which are the important pillars for happiness in life: “I think there are three things which are fundamental for a good life: God, family and work. I know it, because these are the important factors in my life. I believe everybody can be happy if he’s got a stable environment.” The 44 years old Brazilian see also sports in this function of making a person happy: “Sports gives so much to a person. You learn discipline and hard work. You notice that you can only work in a team. This experiences sports can give you changes everybody.”

The formal Brazilian, further on, believes that sports can have an important role as unifier: “There’s no place for racism or discrimination in sports. I think this big passion unifies people from every background. Sports don’t need a winner, but has as goal to bring people together and to make them feel better. This is the ideal of sports.” Talmo Curto de Oliveira, however, knows that these big ideals unfortunately are abused sometimes: “It’s sad that some people ignore the pillars of sports. There should be no fights or hatred between two different clubs. I feel bad when I see that some people tramp it underfoot.”

Talmo Curto de Oliveira is a real sportsman and knows how it feels to put on Olympic gold. The former Brazilian national player, however, doesn’t see this as the biggest win in his life: “Of course I was happy to win the Gold medal at the Olympics. Nevertheless, the friendships and the experiences we made as team are more important for me.” The former setter has other, more important souvenirs from this Olympic victory: “The memories about the games vanish by the course of time, but the friendships stays. I will never forget how hard we fought this medal. And most of all, I will never forget how much we dedicated together as team.” Talmo Curto de Oliveira doesn’t want to lose his head because of this Gold medal: “I conquered the gold medal with my team, but the medal shall never conquer me.Teamwork and sportsmanship. That’s what the Brazilian also demands from his players: “We have to be good examples for the kids and show that you can reach a goal when you work hard and operate as team.” That’s clearly the most important for his team as the former Brazilian national team setter explains: “We are a big family and work together. That’s what makes us strong.”